It’s a tough question to answer, isn’t it? Does being a “shooter” simply mean merely being a high-level marksman from beyond the arc? Can a player who thrives in the mid-range but rarely ventures out into three-point land be eligible? How heavily should we be valuing stats like efficiency and effective field goal percentage when taking all of this into account?

One number that we like to use is “180″. How do you become a 180 shooter? By shooting 50% or better from the field overall, 40% or better from three and at least 90% from the charity stripe. From this point forward we’ll track this until the end of the regular season, providing weekly updates as well as a look into how some of the nation’s best find (and connect on) their quality looks.

Trailing 47-30 at the half at then-No. 15 Kansas on Saturday afternoon, Travis Ford’s Oklahoma State Cowboys needed a spark. The Cowboys shot just 30.8% from the field, with sophomore guard Phil Forte III accounting for three of their eight made field goals. Forte would keep going in the second half, knocking down four more shots from beyond the arc to help get Oklahoma State back into the game, a contest they would lose 80-78. Forte’s final numbers: a season-high 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field (7-for-10 3PT).

The sophomore from Flower Mound, Texas has been a valuable reserve for Oklahoma State in each of his two seasons in Stillwater, but this season he’s doing so in a more efficient manner. After shooting 37.0% from the field and 33.8% from beyond the arc as a freshman, Forte’s made 50% of his three-pointers and is shooting 47.4% from the field overall through 18 games. As a result his effective field goal and true shooting percentages have made significant improvements as well.

Forte isn’t asked to create many of his shots off the dribble, with Markel Brown and Marcus Smart being the ones on the perimeter who get those opportunities within the Oklahoma State offense. Their ability to make plays off the dribble results in shot attempts for players such as Forte, with a high number of his shots being of the assisted variety.

According to hoop-math.com nearly 80% of the shots Forte’s attempted this season have been three-pointers, with 94.3% of his makes from beyond the arc being assisted. Against Kansas six of Forte’s seven made three-pointers were assisted, with five different Cowboys assisting on those shots. Forte’s possession percentage may currently rank fifth on the team but his shot-making ability is clearly something Oklahoma State needs in order to be at its best offensively.

Through 18 games that’s been the case, helping to make Oklahoma State one of the better offensive teams in the country.

THE TOP TEN (Note: Players much be eligible to be ranked in FG%, 3PT% and FT%. And here’s a glossary that includes the stats you’ll see used in these posts. Tempo neutral numbers per kenpom.com.)

It’s a tough question to answer, isn’t it? Does being a “shooter” simply mean merely being a high-level marksman from beyond the arc? Can a player who thrives in the mid-range but rarely ventures out into three-point land be eligible? How heavily should we be valuing stats like efficiency and effective field goal percentage when taking all of this into account?

One number that we like to use is “180″. How do you become a 180 shooter? By shooting 50% or better from the field overall, 40% or better from three and at least 90% from the charity stripe. From this point forward we’ll track this until the end of the regular season, providing weekly updates as well as a look into how some of the nation’s best find (and connect on) their quality looks.

Many of the discussions regarding Ole Miss basketball center around one player: Marshall Henderson. With his limitless range (and shot selection), and his being a polarizing figure amongst many college basketball fans, it’s understandable that the senior shooting guard would be the first player to come to mind when discussing Andy Kennedy’s team. But there’s another player we should be focused on, and that’s junior guard Jarvis Summers.

Entering the 2013-14 season Summers did enjoy some success, averaging just over ten points per game as a freshman and 9.1 points per game on a team that won the program’s first SEC tournament title since 1981. With the losses of Murphy Holloway and Reginald Buckner, who were second and third on the team in scoring last season, it was clear that players such as Summers and Derrick Millinghaus would have to step up if Ole Miss were to make a run at a second consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament.

And through 13 games Summers has done just that, and an argument can be made that he’s one of the most improved players in the country. Summers is scoring 17.8 points per game, and he’s done so in an efficient manner for Ole Miss as he currently has an offensive rating of 124.3 per kenpom.com. Summers is shooting 55.2% from the field and 54.5% from beyond the arc, with both figures representing significant improvements on his percentages from a season ago (40.4% FG, 34.0% 3PT).

The majority of Summers’ looks have come away from the basket (as expected, since he’s a 6-foot-3 guard), as according to hoop-math.com only 15.7% of his shots have been dunks/layups. Those two-point jumpers that more players seem to have issues with, leading to the many cries lamenting the “death” of the mid-range game? Summers has connected on 49.3% of those looks, which represent 51.5% of his field goal attempts to date. And if this production continues, increased attention will follow for Summers.

THE TOP TEN (Note: Players much be eligible to be ranked in FG%, 3PT% and FT%. And here’s a glossary that includes the stats you’ll see used in these posts. Tempo neutral numbers per kenpom.com.)